Father's Daze

If you type in the Google browser bar “how many days” from one date to another, it calculates your answer in an instant.

My oldest son was born on March 2nd, 1990. So that makes it 8507 days with me as a father. I don’t know which is more amazing. The fact that: A) you can get an answer to such a complex question from Google (for free) in a fraction of a second or B) that I have been a father for 8507 days.

It got me to thinking about how time flies, and all of the amazing things that have happened in the world of telecom and IT in the past 8507 days:

#10: The demise of Novell, Banyan, 3Com, DEC, Compaq, Polaroid, Palm, Nortel, Silicon Graphics ... it's a long list. While some of those companies simply died or were swallowed up, others have and continue to just slowly wither away (I'm looking at you, Novell). What's really interesting is how much dumb luck plays a major role in determining success in business.

#9: The rise of the Internet, which changed the world. The sad thing is that the USA, the country that created the Internet, still doesn't completely understand the Internet's importance. And this is why we're ranked 9th or 16th - depending on how you measure these things - worldwide in terms of broadband availability, price and speed.

#8: The rise of ecommerce. Ecommerce, the selling and buying of goods and services online, has changed how we do business. 8507 days ago, the idea that the Internet would become a global commerce platform was unthinkable. Now we're arguing about how to collect taxes on online purchases.

#7: The re-rise of Apple. Perhaps one of the more surprising stories in the last 8507 days has been the phoenix-like success of Apple. The big question is whether Apple can still be Apple without Jobs ... we'll know in the next 8507 days, that’s for sure. I bought my first computer, an Apple IIe 12,705 days ago. I wish I kept it, as today it would be worth a fortune on eBay.

#6: The consumerization of IT. Around 900 to 1,500 days ago the consumer IT equipment market started eating away at the fringes of the enterprise where it was easier and cheaper for branch offices and telecommuters to deploy low end routers and NAS devices purchased at their local Best Buy than go through the cost and complexity of using Big Boy IT gear. This accelerated as corporate users began increasingly bringing their own laptops and cellphones into the enterprise. Is this creating a huge management mess for IT, or is it a huge cost savings? Whichever it is, it's not going away anytime soon.

#5: The end of privacy and security. Along with all the good stuff that the Internet has made possible there is plenty of bad stuff too. The 'Net, the operating systems we use, and the services we rely upon all ensure you're trackable and hackable. How many days ago did we all lose our privacy for good? *See Google, below.

#4: The rise of Linux and open source. Who could have predicted 8507 days ago that Linux and the open source movement would become such powerful market forces?

#3: The rise of social media. Facebook and Twitter and the rest. Need I say more? Whether social media as we know it today will survive the next 8507 days is debatable.

#2: The rise of Google. Google, one of the few companies to ever become a verb, was founded only *5,643 days ago and it's growth and the sheer exuberance of its research and development has been truly astounding.

And finally ...

#1: The death of the PC. Who knew that the PC would so quickly wane in importance to become just one of the end user computing platforms? This year we shall see PC shipments drop by almost 8%!

Yes indeed, 152 days ago, my oldest son received his Bachelors of Science Degree from Quinnipiac University (Computer Information Systems). 27 days ago, we watched Tom Jr. accept his diploma along with thousands of proud parents.

My son a.k.a. "Tommy Baby" (pronounced tah-mee bay-bee by me) has spent a total of 8507 days on the planet - and now 152 of those days - as a (thankfully employed) college graduate. 

Yes, time certainly does fly. Now I know where the expression Father Time comes from.

Happy Father’s Day everyone!

Posted Early - Playing Golf Tomorrow!

Start me up!

  What is a startup?  This is a question that has been asked for years.

Here is my favorite definition of a startup: A startup is a company that is confused about what its product is, who its customers are, and how to make money. As soon as it figures out all of these things, it ceases to be a startup and then it becomes a real business.

Except, most of the time, that does not happen. And that about says it all.

I love technology and I love business. I am in the business of selling, promoting, marketing and nurturing technology. A technologist. A technology ombudsman. All of that sounds so much better than salesman, although I resemble that too, on occasion.

Most startups fail. Good. They were the first generation of a long line of good ideas. “The Facebook” that was invented in a dorm room is not (just) “Facebook” that we all know today.

The Wright Brothers are credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903. There were no engines small enough, light enough or powerful enough to fit their plane - so they had to build an engine first, in their bicycle shop.

Few inventions have changed how people live and experience the world as much as the invention of the airplane. During both World Wars, government subsidies and demands for new airplanes vastly improved techniques for their design and construction. Following the World War II, the first commercial airplane routes were set up in Europe. Over time, air travel has become so commonplace that it would be hard to imagine life without it. It has also altered the way in which people live and conduct business by shortening travel time and altering our concept of distance, making it possible for us to visit and conduct business in places once considered remote.

Enter stage right: the Internet. 

When I was growing up, there were several Travel Agents in our town. Now I cannot find a Travel Agent, except online. Can anyone say videoconferencing?

Would there be any car dealerships without Henry Ford? Does anyone (ever) buy a car these days without checking it all out first online?

When a startup becomes a real business, it can change the world. Sometimes a successful startup creates new startups, that kills off the first startup. If they do not kill it off completely, the new startups morph the old startup beyond recognition.

The startup is dead.  Long live the startup!

I need some Scotch Tape

Do you have an idea for a new product? A new business? The thing that you keep telling friends, relatives, anyone that will listen? I was touring NBC studios in NYC and on one of the monitors they were playing the SNL sketch “Scotch® Boutique,” the owners of a trendy new store sell nothing but Scotch® Tape. 

The humor of the sketch hit me: a simple product that became so common, so dependable and so necessary that it would find its place in every school, business and household in the modern world. "Where's the Scotch Tape?" is the cry that has been heard millions of times around the world. But was this idea good enough to justify opening a store that sells nothing but Scotch Tape? Funny. 

Fast forward to today. Every day, thousands of new ideas turn into mobile apps. Every day, new businesses are born, stores are opened, patents are filed. Websites are turned up, blogs (like this one) are posted, and videos go viral. 

In 2012:

• 634 million – Number of websites (December).
• 51 million – Number of websites added during the year.
• 43% – Share of the top 1 million websites that are hosted in the U.S.
• 48% – Share of the the top 100 blogs that run WordPress.
• 75% – Share of the top 10,000 websites that are served by open source software.
• 87.8 million – Number of Tumblr blogs.
• 17.8 billion – Number of page views for Tumblr.
• 59.4 million – Number of WordPress sites around the world.
• 3.5 billion – Number of webpages run by WordPress viewed each month.
• 37 billion –  Number of pageviews for Reddit.com in 2012.

As for Domain Names alone in 2012 alone:

• 246 million – Number of domain name registrations across all top-level domains.
• 104.9 million – Number of country code top-level domain name registrations.
• 329 – Number of top level domains.
• 100 million – Number of .com domain names at the end of 2012.
• 14.1 million – Number of .net domain names at the end of 2012.
• 9.7 million – Number of .org domain names at the end of 2012.
• 6.7 million – Number of .info domain names at the end of 2012.
• 2.2 million – Number of .biz domain names at the end of 2012.

I love being in business, and I love helping entrepreneurs who innovate, invent, re-invent, design and create the world around us. Ideas creating new ideas. Ideas that change the way that we live, work and play. Somewhere in those millions of new websites will be the next Amazon, Facebook, or University of Phoenix. And that is very cool indeed. If you like this blog, print it out and Scotch® Tape it to your wall. After all, "Push Pins" will leave a mark. 

Gee, I wonder if www.PushPin.com is taken?

Tape Innovation Timeline

1930 Richard Drew, a young 3M engineer, invents Scotch® Cellulose Tape. Later to be renamed Cellophane Tape, it is an attractive, moisture-proof way for grocers and bakers to seal packages. The tape helps people “make do” during the Great Depression—they made simple repairs to household items.

1932 Scotch® Brand introduces the first heavy-duty, countertop tape dispenser. It’s made from cast iron and weighs almost 7 pounds.

1939 Scotch® Brand welcomes the "snail,"—its iconic, handheld tape dispenser. The first version is made from stamped sheet metal, and a molded plastic model is added one year later.

1941-1945 During World War II, almost all tape production is diverted to the war effort. 3M develops and manufactures more that 100 different types of tape to help solve war production problems such as sealing, identifying parts, holding materials, protecting and insulating. Scotch® Double-Sided Tape, coated with adhesive on both sides, joins the transparent tape family during this time.

1945 The famous plaid design is introduced. The war now over, Scotch® Brand focuses on distributing the clad-in-plaid tape to homes, schools and businesses.

1950s Scotty McTape debuts in TV commercials. By 1955, 67% of American households have television sets, and Scotch® Cellophane Tape is a major advertiser on the new medium. Scotty McTape serves as the brand mascot for over two decades.

1961 3M invents Scotch® Magic™ Tape. The innovative matte-finish tape is virtually invisible on light-colored paper and envelopes. Unlike glossy tapes, it can be written on with pen, pencil or marker. At about the same time, Scotch® Cellophane Tape is renamed Transparent Tape.

1978 Saturday Night Live pokes fun. In the sketch “Scotch® Boutique,” the owners of a trendy new store sell nothing but Scotch® Tape.

1984 Scotch® Removable Tape joins the Transparent Tape family. This new product features a unique adhesive that holds paper securely, yet is easy to remove or reposition. Later, in 1996, a removable double-sided tape will be launched.

1985 Consumers vote Scotch® Brand Tape the most indispensable household product. In a national Roper opinion poll, 46% of respondents say they’re stuck on Scotch® Transparent Tape. Other top products include no-iron fabrics, aluminum foil, pantyhose and T-shirts. Home computers come in last—only 2% say they couldn't do without one.

1997 The Scotch® Pop-Up Tape Dispenser is introduced. Precut, 2-inch pieces of tape "pop up" from the dispenser, which can be worn on the wrist or hand. The invention adds speed and convenience to gift wrapping, crafting and school projects.

2004 Scotch® Transparent Tape is named a "Humble Masterpiece" by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The exhibit features over a hundred simple items, including Scotch® Transparent Tape, that are used every day. "While modest in size and price,” the curator says, “These objects are indispensable masterpieces of design deserving of our admiration.”

2005 Scotch® Brand celebrates 75 years of transparent tapes. The classic "snail" dispenser receives its first major makeover in 60 years. The new Contour Dispenser is sleek, stylish and comes a variety of shades.

2008 Scotch® Brand stays on the cutting edge for crafters. Making beautiful scrapbooks is easy with new Scotch® Brand innovations like Tape Runner and Vellum Tape.

Fun Facts

The total amount of Scotch® Transparent Tape sold to homes and offices in the United States each year would go around the Earth 165 times. There are more than 400 varieties of tapes sold under the Scotch® and 3M™ brands. How Scotch® Transparent Tape is made 1) Film backing is created 2) Pressure-sensitive adhesive added to film 3) Backing and adhesive combined into a jumbo roll of tape 4) Roll cut into smaller rolls or strips The first use for Scotch® Transparent Tape was as a moisture-proof seal for cellophane wrap used by bakers, grocers and meat packers.

It's the education, stupid!

Yesterday was an amazing day. I watched my oldest son graduate from college. I’ll save my gushy emotions for the end, as I want to talk about something that I learned this weekend:

Education is the most important thing in the world.

I had flashbacks of my son’s entire education process. From learning how to walk, to learning how to read, to doing simple math problems. From birth it was all about the learning and mastery of new things. Non-stop learning, both formal education (K-12, High School, College) and education from summer band camps, scouting, organized sports - it has been non-stop learning and a continuous education process.

Learning to walk. Learning to read. Math, Algebra, Calculus. Chemistry, Biology, English. Computer programming, Accounting, Business Law. How to ride a bike, how to drive a car, how to cook, how to paint, or sculpt or draw. How to build a website. How to design, create, invent - anything - and everything. From the simple to the complex, life is a non-stop process of learning new things.

Life is learning, and learning is life. They are one in the same. The quality of one’s life is measured by the pursuit of lifelong education. Notice that important word - pursuit. It is this pursuit of education where things seem to become unfair.

As we get older, something happens with the education process. I don’t know when learning becomes a scarce asset connected to money, but it happens. At some point, the ability to “learn” is connected to how much money you are willing to spend in exchange for the knowledge. The more money you have, the easier it is to learn. The more money you have, the better the access to the material, to the instructors, to the source of the quality learning process. At some point, it starts to cost lots and lots of money to learn “the good stuff”.

I watched the faces of people during the graduation ceremony. Parents, Aunts, Uncles, Sisters and Brothers. I watched the smiles and the tears as everyone celebrated the learning process culminate into one of our most coveted prizes: a college degree. Many of these smiling, crying, laughing people borrowed a great deal of money to make this wonderful day possible. Many families worked two jobs, or went deep into debt to make the college experience a reality. And the student loans, let’s not forget the student loans!   

Life is learning, and learning is life. But why does this process become so expensive? Why does the formal education process hit such a division, where having (or not having) enough money determines your opportunity to pursue your passion?

There were many young men and women in my son’s graduating class who will become teachers, doctors, lawyers. They will become scientists, possibly inventing new drugs or changing the course of society. They have wonderful career opportunities because they were fortunate enough to pursue an expensive college degree attending an excellent accredited university. Some will carry college debt for many years, with or without securing jobs in their chosen field of study. Life is learning and learning is life.

Why would we not want as many teachers, doctors and scientists as possible? Why would we not want anyone with the passion and the drive to become a productive members of society via higher education? There was a time in this country where only those with money would ever learn to read. Everyone else was out of luck. What would the world be like if anyone who wanted to learn was empowered and enabled to learn? It should not matter how much money your parents have, or what part of the world you happen to live.  

Life is learning and learning is life.  It should not be connected to money.

I am very proud of my two sons. I want both of my sons to have the best of everything. Access to a quality education should not be reserved only for those with means. I feel that a quality education should not be based on your social status. It should be based on your passion, your work ethic and most of all, it should be based on your character.

Across the country there were many families celebrating a wonderful day - college graduation day. Lifelong learning should not be so damn expensive. Maybe the distance learning technology of today will continue to change the way we pursue higher education. The world can use all of the passionate, dedicated, highly educated people we can get. We should not let the lack of money get in the way. 

Life is learning and learning is life.

Congratulations, Tommy.  Now the real learning begins.

It's a Boy!

Necessity is the mother of invention. Meaning: If someone really needs something or has a problem, he/she will find a way.

Throughout the history of science, evidence has proven that necessity is the mother of invention. If you want to invent something, think about what people need or what problems they have.

Or: difficult situations inspire ingenious solutions.

Necessity is the mother of invention means necessity or difficult situations encourage inventive solutions.

When people really need to do something, they will figure out a way to do it. When the fan belt on Linda's car broke in the middle of the desert, Linda used her stockings as a replacement. Necessity is the mother of invention.

Inventiveness and ingenuity are stimulated by difficulty. For example, The first prisoner to tie together bedsheets to escape knew that necessity was the mother of invention. This proverb first appeared in English in 1519 in slightly different form, "Need taught him wit," and exists in many other languages as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet  You can read up on the History of the Internet here. The government had a need, and so, the Internet was born. The US government is the mother of the Internet.

The baby was born unto us all and we shall call him “ARPANET”.

Today we have eBooks, Facebook, Twitter, eBay, Amazon.com and many (many) siblings of ARPANET. The world will never be the same because of that one, singular “birth” of an invention traced back to a government need for secure and instant communications. 

And now, just look at how our baby ARPANET has grown into a hormone driven teenager. What would the world do without Facebook and Tweets and grumpy cat videos? Thank you, ARPANET.

I wonder what “Mom” thinks of her little baby boy ARPANET today? Born from scientists to service science, the need was great and the world would never be the same. Kinda brings new meaning to "My son, the scientist".

This is a great place to stop, so that we can all send Mom an email or a tweet or a post or a video or a gift card or flowers or make reservations online - Happy Mother’s Day!

Do you wanna bump?

"Do Ya Wanna Bump" is a dance song recorded by American recording artist Sylvester. The song is heard briefly in the movie Trading Places, a comedy-drama movie starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. Doing “The Bump” was a big dance craze in the 70’s. I think I did “The Bump” at my Senior Prom.

I just came back from the best business trip ever - the USDLA National Convention in St. Louis. Sadly, I could not find anyone who wanted to bump with me.

The bumping of smartphones: "The best digital business idea that does not work."

While in St. Louis among the world's leading technologists and education digerati I noticed the that everyone remains stubbornly dependent upon paper: paper programs, paper posters, paper flyers and paper name tags.

And, Paper Business Cards. There was no smartphone bumping of business cards in St. Louis.

I must have passed out (and received) 250 business cards at the event. Nobody offered a "digital" card and nobody asked for one, even though the "bump" technology of transferring data from one mobile device to another has been around for a few years. I found this odd ... especially when I returned home and scanned all of my collected cards. Doesn't that seem like the biggest waste of time? "Bumping" a business card is such a great idea. But it never worked.  

Why?

Many reasons: Habit, and the fact that paper cards offer subtle benefits that the bumping of two phones just can't match. But we must also remember human nature.

Offering a "bump" requires a conversation between the parties to learn that a) the receiver of the data bump is amenable to this method, and b) that he or she possesses the necessary bump technology (yes, people still carry not-so-smart phones).

That extra step alone is enough to dissuade this non-bumper. But there are other considerations. Some new contacts may acquiesce to and accept your bump even though they really would prefer a physical business card; too polite to ask, they leave the encounter slightly unfulfilled and maybe even irritated. And should you make the offer to someone who either doesn't bump or lacks the bumping technology, well, you've added the possibility of embarrassment to the possibility of irritation.

Such potential irritation is not good for business. And why take the chance when going old school (paper business card) carries no risk whatsoever.

What about the bumpers who hate paper cards and are irritated by the failure of most of us to get with the bump program? 

That's their problem. And that is their irritation, unlike the type they risk causing, this irritation cannot be directed at specific individuals or else they'd be irritated with virtually everyone. 

And if you don't want to bump a business card, are you ever going to want to bump money? Ah yes, this is bad news for tree lovers: paper business cards are going to be around for a long time.  

< Admit it. If you are over 50 you have that song “Do you wanna Bump” playing in your head right now, don’t you?  See, Disco is not dead... it has just been on life support. >